No. 19 Kansas dropped a high-scoring, 52-42, contest at Oklahoma on Saturday at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman.
The Jayhawks fall to 5-2 on the year and 2-2 in Big 12 play, while OU improves to 4-3 and picks up its first conference win to move to 1-3.
The scoring started right away with Oklahoma marching 79 yards on 10 plays on its first drive, finishing it with a 1-yard touchdown rush from Jovantae Barnes.
Kansas answered right back on its first drive, also reaching the end zone after a long drive. Quarterback Jason Bean found receiver Lawrence Arnold for a 39-yard strike to even the game up at seven.
The two teams traded touchdown drives again on their second possessions of the game. First, Oklahoma went 75 yards on nine plays and scored on a 2-yard rush from Eric Gray to go up 14-7 with 7:13 to play in the first half.
The Jayhawks again answered, this time thanks to running back Devin Neal. Neal scored from 11 yards out with 2:39 in the first quarter to tie the game at 14. Neal’s touchdown capped a 65-yard drive for the Jayhawks.
The Sooners then scored three-straight touchdowns over an 11-plus minute span in the second quarter to take a 35-14 lead with 2:40 to play in the first half.
Kansas cut it to a 14-point deficit with 1:36 to play in the half when Bean found tight end Mason Fairchild for an 18-yard touchdown to make it 35-21.
The Sooners marched down to the one-yard line right before half, but a Kenny Logan tackle at the goal line kept Oklahoma out of the end zone to end the half and keep the deficit at 14.
The Jayhawks had the ball to start the second with an opportunity to cut it to a seven-point game. But Oklahoma picked off Bean on the first drive of the second half, and then scored on the ensuing possession to go up 42-21.
Kansas answered back when Bean found Arnold for their second touchdown connection; this one for 28 yards with 5:56 to play in the third. Arnold finished with a career-high 106 yards on five receptions for the game.
Oklahoma again had an answer, however, when quarterback Dillon Gabriel found Brayden Willis for a 26-yard touchdown pass to make it 49-28 with less than three minutes to play in the third.
Early in the fourth, Kansas cut it to 14 again when running back Ky Thomas scored the first touchdown of his Jayhawk career when he scored on a handoff from the 1-yard line. A long scoring drive ensued as OU used 5:15 off the clock and added a field goal to make it 52-35 with 5:18 to play.
Kansas had another quick response planned, this time a seven-play, 75-yard drive that just took 1:47 off the clock. The drive culminated with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Bean to Fairchild, the duo’s second scoring connection of the day and third in the past two weeks. Trailing 52-42 with 3:31 to play, Kansas attempted an onside kick, which was recovered by the Sooners, who were then able to run out the clock.
Fairchild totaled career-highs of six receptions, 106 yards and two touchdowns in the game, joining Arnold with more than 100 receiving yards in the game. The last time Kansas had two receivers with surpass the century mark in receiving yards was against Texas Tech in 2019.
Kansas returns to action on Saturday, October 22, at Baylor. That game will kick off at 11 a.m. CT in Waco, Texas, and be televised by either ESPN or ESPN2.
